After Finn frantically explained that Nora meant that he spilt some tea on her, the boys were disappointed, and the girls breathed a sigh of relief.
They all then sat down on the couches, and Nora served everyone a cup of tea.
Finn explained that he wanted to buy some gear and that money wasn't a problem since Nora had already paid him 50 gold coins.
He could have crafted the weapons and armor, but he was planning to do that a little later since when a player reached level 5, he could visit a church in one of the big cities and choose their class.
Finn was planning on creating gear for his friends only after they chose their class to ensure he crafted it with their class in mind.
Leo was a close-quarter martial artist, so he chose brass knuckles and cloth armor that he could easily move in. It also had reinforced steel parts like the elbow area, the knee area, and other areas that he would use in combat.
Because James wanted to be a magician, he chose a red staff with a fireball enchantment, and because he hadn't chosen a magic class yet, he couldn't use any spells other than the one enchanted on this staff.
For his armor, he chose a black wizard robe that had a chance to deflect physical attacks.
Sophie upgraded her spear from stone to steel and wore silver armor that made her look like a beautiful Valkyrie.
Mia wanted to be a healer, but there were no staffs with the healing spell enchanted on them, so she settled for a small dagger, leather armor, and a first aid kit.
Her parents were doctors, and she wanted to become one as well, not only in real life but in Second Life too.
This way, the system would notice that she wished to become a healer and offer her a healing class once she reached level 5.
Finn intended to use the Diabolium he discovered in the kobold dungeon to make his daggers, and his sword was already perfect, so he only purchased new stronger black leather armor.
He also bought ten health potions in case there happens to be an injury that Mia won't be able to heal.
Nora recorded what everyone wanted and gave the list to her assistant, who then brought all the items to her office.
All of these things cost Finn 20 gold coins, but he didn't mind since he was investing his money into his friends.
They formed a party so that the loot and experience gained in the dungeon could be fairly distributed among them, then took a carriage to the city gates and walked until they reached the dungeon.
---
It was 3 p.m. when they reached the dungeon site.
The dungeon was surrounded by players that were trying to find party members by shouting.
"Looking for a tank!"
"We have four players and are looking for one more!"
"Someone smart, please join us!"
Finn and his party ignored everyone and went to enter the dungeon.
When the other players saw their expensive-looking gear, they wanted to approach them but decided against it after looking at themselves and realizing that their average clothes would get them rejected.
Before Finn and his group could enter the dungeon, though, two male players with red clothing and a golden roaring lion embedded on their chests stopped them.
"If you want to enter, you have to pay the fee of 1 silver coin per person!"
One of the players put his hand out in front of Finn.
Finn came to a halt and looked at the hand before frowning at the player.
"No. Now piss off before I break your arm."
He hated the players who monopolized public things like dungeons and then extorted other players.
It was a profitable business for them, and there weren't any rules against it, so the guilds used this to gain funds.
The player raised an eyebrow and looked at Finn's party.
"You look pretty strong, so how about this. You can join our guild, The Golden Lions, and go to any of our dungeons for free. If you are as strong as you look, you might even get an executive position in our guild."
The player offered, since getting money from players wasn't their only reason for being here, roping strong players into their guilds was the other one.
"I told you to fuck off. Are you deaf, retarded, or both?"
Finn was not having it, as he was doing his best not to attack the player in front of him since that would count as a player kill.
The player in front of him didn't harbor any ill intentions against him, so it would be Finn who would get punished by the system for killing.
But the player also had pride and being insulted twice made him feel like punching Finn in the face.
"…I am going to ask one last time either-"
"Both it is, then."
Finn interrupted the player's sentence and shook his head with a frown.
"Not only are you deaf, but you are also retarded. I feel sorry for your guild since they have someone like you in there, but maybe everyone in there is like you.
He then looked at the two players in front of him, and a smirk appeared on his face.
"A guild of retards."
He was trying to make the player attack him, and since he knew he was stronger, he just needed to make it look like self-defense to not receive a punishment from the system.
"YOU PIECE OF SHIT!"
The player swung his sword at Finn, and his friend from the same guild also tried to throw a punch after hearing his guild get insulted.
Finn grabbed his sword in his right hand, blocked the incoming strike with it, and then stabbed a dagger into the player's neck with his left hand.
Leo just grabbed the other player's fist and twisted it, making his bones snap. He then grabbed the player's hair to hold his head in place and punched it with his new brass knuckles, crushing his skull.
"Hahaha! Not a bad warm up!"
Leo laughed as he dusted his hands.
Finn just nodded and continued wiping his bloody dagger.
The two players' corpses disappeared into light particles, meaning they were about to respawn in a cemetery.
They dropped some silver coins, which Finn picked up and put into his inventory.
The players around them, who were all complaining about The Golden Lions guild a second ago, started cheering after seeing them get massacred, but Finn didn't care, and he continued walking into the dungeon.
"I didn't get any exp."
Mia complained to Sophie while looking at her interface.
"That's because we didn't do anything, while Finn and Leo did all the damage."
Sophie calmly explained as she followed Finn into the dungeon.
"I'm a healer, though! I should get experience points for providing them with mental support! Having a cute girl like me next to them is making them fight better!"
"…"
Sophie just shook her head, not even bothering to answer her shameless friend.
[You have killed the player CharmanderBestStarterPokemon, level 4, and gained 150exp]
[You have entered the dungeon Temple of stone – rank E]
Finn swiped the notifications away and looked at his surroundings.
He was in a long corridor paved with stone bricks, and the stone ceiling was held up by stone pillars.
On the walls were stone torches, and there were no monsters in sight.
"So, this is how a dungeon looks like… It's pretty cool, but where are the golems?"
Leo frowned after looking around because he went there to fight, not sightsee.
"They will only appear if we fail the puzzles, so let's hope we can get through it without fighting."
James explained as he followed behind Finn, who was walking through the stone corridor.
Soon they entered a room that had a stone pedestal in the middle.
Behind the pedestal was a massive stone door, with a three-meter-tall stone statue on each side depicting two hunched-back men missing a face.
They looked poor and weak, having tattered clothes carved on them.
Finn and his group approached the pedestal, which had a riddle carved into it.
"I'm tall when I'm young, and I'm short when I'm old."
It was a simple riddle that required a one-word answer, so Leo immediately threw out a guess.
"Hmm… maybe a dwarf?"
"A candle"
"candle"
But before he could even discuss his idea with the others, Finn and Sophie both answered at the same time.
Finn smiled at Sophie, pleased that they had the same thought process, while she looked at him with her brows slightly furrowed.
"I answered first."
She glared at him like she was trying to prove something to him.
"Uhm, sure? You know that this is not a competition, right? We are here to finish the dungeon together."
Finn was slightly confused as to why Sophie was acting like this, but he had no way of knowing that she felt like she needed to prove herself and show Mia that she was better than him.
She answered him with a nod and came up to the pedestal.
There was a small text under the question that said, "If you wish to answer, place your hand here and say the answer out loud."
So she did, and five seconds later there was a click, and the stone door opened, revealing another hallway.
[You answered correctly and received 100 exp]
The exp they were awarded with was their part of the share, and they all got the same amount.
They all continued through the dungeon and soon reached another room that looked almost the same, with the difference being that this time the statues didn't have a hunched backs and their clothes didn't have holes in them.
"Hmm... these guys must be the golems, and judging by their appearance, they appear to be getting stronger as we go."
James instantly deduced when he compared the differences between the two rooms.
They all walked up to the pedestal, and there was another riddle carved into it.
"I can fly, but I have no wings. I can cry, but I have no eyes. Wherever I go, darkness follows. What am I?"
This time nobody answered instantly, and they thought about it for a bit.
After a few seconds, Finn came up with a solid answer.
"Clouds! Fly in the sky but have no wings. Cry means rain, and it floats in the sky during the night, so darkness follows."
Mia rushed over to Finn, complimenting him on not only his strength but also his intelligence, while Leo stated that he knew the answer but was giving others a chance to respond.
"Tch, you win this one."
Sophie mumbled from the side, but she said it so quietly that nobody could hear her.
Finn then pressed his hand on the pedestal and answered.
[You answered correctly and received 100 exp]
Soon the doors opened, and after walking for a bit, they arrived in a new room. The statues were still dressed normally this time, but one of them held a spear.
After arriving in front of the pedestal, Finn and his group all focused on the next riddle.
"I follow you all the time and copy your every move, but you can't touch me or catch me. What am I?"
'This one is easy, it's a shadow.'
Finn knew the answer, but before he could even say it, Leo pressed his hand on the pedestal and shouted.
"Reflection!" He then proudly smiled while puffing up his chest. "Hah! See, I can do it too. I know, I'm just too smart."
He instantly turned around to boast, but as soon as he saw Finn's ghastly expression, he realized that he might have done something he shouldn't have.
'That's a good guess, but there are no good guesses in here, only correct and incorrect answers.'
Loki chuckled in Finn's head as he went to get some popcorn for the upcoming fight.
While trying to impress Mia, Leo shouted the first thing that came to his mind but unfortunately it was wrong.
[Your answer was incorrect, and the golems shall now awaken]
CRACK
The golems slowly started to move, and their stone bodies made a cracking sound as they left their pedestals.
They looked around the room, and after spotting intruders, they immediately rushed to eliminate them.
For tall stone statues, the golems were pretty fast, and because of this and their sturdy bodies, they were regarded as pretty tough opponents.
The golem that didn't have a weapon arrived there a lot faster than the other one, and before anyone could get into their battle positions, the golem punched towards Mia's position.
He attacked her first because the golems knew that they should target the healer in the backlines first.
As the huge stone fist was getting closer to her, she felt her legs become weak, and she knew that she didn't have the strength to run, so she stood there looking at the fist that would soon squash her like a bug.
Her lips were quivering, and her eyes started to be filled with tears as she only let out a soft mumble.
"I hope death doesn't hurt…"